


The Fool

by spacedaydreamer



Category: Zero Escape (Video Games), Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma - Fandom
Genre: Every ship I touch turns into angst, M/M, Sigpei is no exception; apparently, lots of depression, takes place after sigma breaks down crying in dcom (from the booklet stories)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-06 01:59:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11026239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedaydreamer/pseuds/spacedaydreamer
Summary: The Fool. Infinite potential, the beginning and the end. It asks that you take a 'leap of faith'; but that leap is not always for the best. Sometimes, trusting in fate is the thing that will end up destroying you, completely and utterly.Junpei had learned that lesson well.





	The Fool

Junpei had _just_ wanted to take a shower. It was bad enough that the shower stalls were all in one room, but he really hadn’t wanted to come across _this_ of all things. That being Sigma, fully clothed and sitting in the furthest stall, without even the decency to close the curtain so Junpei could ignore him.

“Oi. What’s going on over there.”

Sigma’s head snapped around to look at Junpei, tears continuing to stream down his face even as he tried to hide them. His eyes narrowed sharply when he saw who it was, and he scowled.

“Tenmyouji. Are you going to make fun of me, or something?”

“What, make fun of the insane bastard crying alone in a shower?”

“Just go away. I don’t need this.”

Junpei rolled his eyes.

“You think I _wanted_ to find you like this? As if.” There was a beat of silence before Sigma reached up to turn the shower off, never getting off his knees. “Well, seeing as you’re already here: what the hell is your relationship with Akane? The two of you know each other, clearly.”

He didn’t respond, just slumping back against the wall and continuing to cry. Silent sobs shook his body; but it only served to piss Junpei off.

“I’m _talking_ to you, you crazy fuck! _What is Akane to you?!_ ”

“…” Sigma sighed, lifting his face to look at Junpei with sad, tired eyes. He looked significantly older than he should’ve- for a second, his claim that he was 67 was actually believable. “She’s a business partner. There’s nothing between us outside of that.”

“Bullshit. You, her, and Phi are always whispering about shit. You’re all in on something- what is it?”

“… You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you. If you want the truth, ask her yourself.”

Junpei’s hands clenched into fists, and he felt himself growing angrier.

“You think I don’t _want_ to?! I spent an entire fucking _year_ looking for her, and she’s not telling me _shit!_ ”

Sigma blinked once, slowly and sadly in a gesture that once again made him look far, far too old.

“Some things… never changed.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, really. Nothing at all.”

Junpei snorted, turning to look to the side. It seemed like Sigma wasn’t going to say anything more, the bastard. Well, Junpei’d just have to try another angle, then.

“Why were you crying? I saw Diana walking out on my way in; did she break up with you or some shit?”

That got Sigma’s attention- he looked at Junpei with pure malice in his eyes, hardly able to contain the anger in his voice.

“It was nothing like that. She just had some questions.”

“And ‘some questions’ have a guy like you sobbing alone in a shower. Right.”

Sigma glared, but had no retort. Despite everything, Junpei found it harder to hate him- if anything, he could sympathize. Both of them… both of them were complete and utter fools, in the end. Junpei was hopelessly in love with a woman who’d left him behind without a second thought, and Sigma… Junpei had a feeling there was a lot more to this question than was being answered.

“You’re like me, then.” Junpei couldn’t stop himself from laughing, but the look on his face was anything but jovial. “In love with someone who’s horrible for you. Am I right?”

“That’s- no, you’re wrong. Diana isn’t horrible for me, not in the slightest. It’s just complicated.” Junpei snorted, but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t like he knew enough to judge. “And Akane, she… she always loved you.”

“ _Loved?_ ”

“Th-that’s- I meant-“

“Oh, just _shut up!_ ” Junpei found himself snapping again, and he wasn’t really sure why. “I don’t _care_ if she doesn’t love me anymore. I doubt she could ever really love someone like me, not now- _I don’t care!_ I don’t need her to love me back. I just… _fuck!_ ”

As hard as he’d been resisting the urge, he found tears spilling over. Goddammit. Goddammit, he didn’t want to cry- not in front of _this_ bastard.

“I just need to talk to her. I just want to hear from her own mouth, what she thinks of me.” More than anything, Junpei wanted her to love him. He wanted her to love him as much as he loved her, he hoped that she missed him with that same ache that’d threatened to tear him in two every night while he’d been alone, but he knew better. He knew that she was far too important- there were things he could never understand about her. Akane Kurashiki was lightyears out of his league, and yet he still wished that she could love him back. “That’s all I want. That’s all I need, and then… and then…”

He wasn’t sure what he’d do. He had the engagement ring- if she cared, then he could propose. He could be together with her, he could finally be _happy_. He was sure that he just needed to be with her, and then he could be happy.

If she didn’t want him, though… what else was there? He’d given up _everything_ to find her. He’d abandoned his family, he’d quit school, left behind the handful of people that he could’ve once called ‘acquaintances’, all to find her. He had nothing else left.

“And then you’ll what?”

Sigma’s voice was infuriatingly calm for someone who’d just been sobbing mere moments ago, as if he was trying to pretend that had never happened. Damn bastard…

“I’ll- It’s none of your fucking busine-“

Junpei had taken a step forwards, but his foot landed on a spot of water on the ground. He slipped and fell forwards; crashing onto Sigma without grace with his face pressed against the other man’s chest. Sigma seemed to recoil at the sudden contact, but Junpei hardly cared. He shifted himself to a (somewhat) more comfortable position, grabbing onto Sigma’s chin.

“Do you think I’m pathetic?”

The question clearly wasn’t what Sigma had expected- his eyes went wide for a moment, and Junpei could see him taking a while just to think.

“No. Just unlucky.” He seemed to contemplate whether or not he should speak for a moment, before continuing. “I’m the pathetic one, here.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You don’t believe me.”

“You don’t know that. Maybe I _can_ buy that shit about you being a time traveler.”

“I doubt it.”

“Just fucking try me.”

“Fine.” Sigma jerked his head sideways, freeing himself from Junpei’s grasp. He didn’t bother pushing Junpei off, though. Either he didn’t mind, or he just didn’t care enough to put in the effort. “I’m pathetic, because I see my wife for the first time in forty-two years after she died, and all I can do is refuse to talk to her and sob. I’m pathetic because I _knew_ she’d be here, and even knowing that, I couldn’t prepare myself enough to see her. I couldn’t prepare myself for a world where she didn’t even recognize me. I’m pathetic, because even with forty-two years to prepare, even knowing what was going to happen… I’m sitting here, soaking wet, with some skinny kid straddling me to the ground and getting me to say all of this shit.”

Once more, Junpei found himself laughing. He pressed himself closer to Sigma, not caring how the chill was starting to soak into his skin.

“Sure sounds damn pathetic to me. But, you know what the funniest part is? I actually fucking believe you.” The laughter stopped, and he found his face pulled into a sarcastic grin. “I guess we’re just two hopeless pathetic bastards, aren’t we? But I suppose that’s just fate.”

“ _Hah!_ ” It seemed that whatever was getting to Junpei had gotten to Sigma as well, as a tired smirk made its way onto his face. “Fate’s a bitch. I don’t give a fuck what fate wants- I’m doing my best to _change_ fate. I refuse to accept that the path I’ve walked is the only one I can exist on.”

“You sound like a stubborn person.”

“And I _know_ that you’re a stubborn person.”

“You do? How would you know that much about me?” Sigma hummed, an infuriating gesture that finally seemed to make his body and age match up. Well, Junpei wasn’t one to lose- he dug an elbow into Sigma’s chest, making him gasp for air, and then grabbed onto his chin once more. “Just looking at you pisses me off, somehow. That stupid-looking face of yours is infuriating.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“This.”

Junpei didn’t wait for Sigma to react, before moving up and slamming their lips together, a rough and needy gesture with no love or romance behind it. It was to his surprise (or perhaps his relief) that Sigma’s surprise lasted only for a moment; before he began to return the kiss. He took that as sign enough of agreement on Sigma’s part and he began to press forwards, getting closer- when a large hand had worked its way into his hair, pulling him back by the head.

“We can’t.”

“They won’t care. Neither of them will care.”

“ _You_ care. I see it in your eyes.”

“Clearly you don’t know me as well as you think you do, then.”

“I don’t think that _you_ know yourself well enough.”

Junpei scoffed, pulling back awkwardly from Sigma. He really wasn’t sure what he wanted right now- it wasn’t like he actually _liked_ Sigma in that way, or anything. He supposed that he’d just figured they could use each other, as a means to get what they needed. Doesn’t matter who you fuck, if you can just imagine it’s the person you _wish_ it was… but whatever.

He climbed off Sigma’s lap, and stood up with an apathetic shrug. Whatever semblance of a ‘mood’ there’d been had passed, and they were strangers again. Just a crazy fuck and a depressed bastard who were too strung up in too many things to take care of themselves, apparently.

“Well, go away. You’re done crying now, aren’t you?”

Sigma didn’t say anything, only standing up in silence. Water still dripped from his hair, and it looked like he wanted to say something- but he thought better of it. Whatever had just happened had come and gone; for neither of them to speak of ever again.

Junpei locked the door to the shower room after Sigma left, not bothering to take his clothes off. He’d brought a spare set of clothes to change into, anyways- it didn’t matter if these ones got soaked.

He really wished that he’d been allowed to bring some booze to this goddamned place, because he sure as fuck needed some right now. What had he been _thinking?_ To put it simply: he didn’t know. Maybe there could’ve been a time where he and Sigma would’ve gotten along, but that world wasn’t _this_ one. He knew _exactly_ who he loved, and the person he loved was Akane Kurashiki, for better or worse.

The hot water from the shower began to scald Junpei’s skin, and for a brief moment he found himself wishing that he could live in a world he was capable of loving someone else, instead.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be fluff. I wanted to write fluff, but instead, my hands made this little disaster. And, I kinda love it.
> 
> First, in defense of Akane- I really do love junkane. However, there /is/ some serious stuff that's never addressed by any of the games in terms of how her and Junpei's relationship would really work, all things considered. Besides, Junpei isn't guilt free either here. He's not exactly doing something good. But really, this isn't the fic for me to talk about that- this is just for me to write some sad sigpei angst. We don't always need a good reason, sometimes angst for the sake of angst is good enough.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
